Superfood Brownie-Cake

I will be honest with you. I have eaten chocolate nearly every day since Christmas (mostly in small quantities) but it has to stop.

In order to try and break the cycle I have been mulling around the idea of trying to create a cake type item that isn’t loaded with sugar (of any kind) but that will still satisfy any kind of craving.

In addition, I purchased some frozen blueberries with the intention of putting them in yoghurt for my lunch. I did this with frozen raspberries and they worked a treat. I’d bung them in a little pot with some plain yoghurt and by the time lunchtime came around at work they would have defrosted and the juice turned the yoghurt a delightful shade of pink and the raspberries were soft. Not so with the blueberries. Yes, they defrosted, but they were very chewy and had a slightly weird texture that was not conducive to yoghurt enjoyment on any level. In fact, I couldn’t eat it quickly enough, just to get it over with (I didn’t want to waste it).

Therefore, apart from the usual smoothies, I wanted to make something that used some of them up.

There has been a short series running on the BBC recently about how to stay younger, and apparently one of the things that can help to keep your brain in tip top condition is eating things that are purple. The best thing to eat is purple sweet potato but they are not so easy to come by in the UK.

However, we do have orange sweet potatoes (also reported to be very good for you) and, obviously, I had some blueberries, which are purple . . . see where I am going?

There is also the fact that dark chocolate contains anti-oxidants, and if you use 85% or higher, there is barely any sugar in it.

And coconut oil is a healthy fat.

It will, therefore, come as no surprise that this brownie-cake contains all of the above, sweet potato, blueberries, dark chocolate and coconut oil. Plus a few other bits and bobs to help it all come together in an edible form.

I have called it a brownie-cake because at room temperature or warmed slightly it has the texture of a cake, but when eaten straight from the fridge the texture is more fudgey and brownie like.

The lack of any added sugar means that they are not overly sweet, yet I find them sweet enough to satisfy that “must have something sweet / cake” feeling that sometimes (often) happens at the end of a meal.

If you wanted to give them an extra chocolate oomph, then you could chuck some dark chocolate chips into the batter to give little chocolately nuggets.

Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and then scatter the frozen blueberries over the top. Press them down into the batter a little with your finger.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (if you have a gathering of several blueberries in one place, the batter may remain a little gooey).

Leave to cool completely in the tin before cutting into 16 squares.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep for at least 4 four days.